For most people, movies are a general escape from the stresses and humdrums of everyday life. When I go to a movie, I expect to forget about a stressful day at school, work, ect. and get some thrills, laughs (Be they unintentional or not) and sometimes even learn things with a group of friends. Unfortunately, not many films are worth the ridiculous price of tickets and food, and nowadays more than ever, most filmmakers are relying on lazy, recycled ideas to make a quick buck. It’s pretty much always been happening, it will definitely continue to happen for the rest of our lives, so I might as well just quit bitching and see movies that have a better chance of not sucking. That said, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to rant about the things I hate most about the movies of today. So, without further word vomit, my five most hated Hollywood trends after the jump.

Back in the day (a phrase I probably shouldn’t be using, as I was born in 1992), the biggest names in the video game industry were almost all platformers. Games like Super Mario Bros, Pitfall, and Prince of Persia sold millions of copies and ruled our consoles. Even though platformers are still considerably popular in the video game community, the big money is now being made with futuristic first-person shooters.

Walking into the local Best Buy, Gamestop, or Vintage Stock¹, one can immediately see how drastically the gaming landscape has changed. Since Halo: Combat Evolved‘s inception in 2001, the FPS has surged in impressive fashion to become the dominant form of joystick entertainment. Games like Halo, Gears of War, and Call of Duty are selling tens of millions of copies, while hauling in hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. Even though some platforming franchises continue to haul in the big bucks, the sub-genre simply isn’t what it was in the 80’s and 90’s, and probably will never return to such dominance.

That said, platformers still have a special place in most gamer’s hearts, and mine is no exception. Ever since getting a Playstation with copies of Spyro the Dragon and Ape Escape, I’ve always been fond of characters jumping on platforms, collecting items and torching/spinning/ jumping on baddies along the way. In celebration to the games that sparked my interest in gaming, here are my (emphasis on the my) top 10 platformer franchises.